Media Contact: Sgt. Geoffrey Coon | 217-403-6934 | [email protected]
The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest travel times of the year, and with all the excitement, travelers can become more focused on celebrations than getting to their destinations as safely as possible.
Each year in our country, tens of thousands of passenger vehicle occupants die in motor vehicle crashes. And during last year’s Thanksgiving holiday weekend in Illinois, 17 people lost their lives and hundreds more were injured. Late night hours are the most dangerous driving hours when the highest percentage of motorists die in alcohol-involved crashes and seat belt usage is the lowest.
The Champaign Police Department and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are committed to saving lives and “Driving Zero Fatalities to a Reality”. Driving sober, alert, and with a seat belt on is the best way to ensure safe travel.
On average, half of all roadway fatalities involve unbuckled drivers or vehicle passengers. Police urge that whether you’re going across town or across the state this Thanksgiving, please make sure everyone in the car is wearing their seat belt.
Illinois law requires seat belt use in all seating positions. It doesn’t matter if you are in the front seat or back seat. Unbuckled occupants pose an increased risk of injury or death by becoming projectiles in a crash.
In the last decade, seat belts saved the lives of more than 100,000 people in the United States. Those people are thankful they wore their seat belts. Won’t you wear yours? Join the campaign! Visit http://www.idot.illinois.gov for more information and spread the word by forwarding this message to family and friends. We need your help in “driving zero fatalities to a reality.”